(Ongoing) Minor League Shuffle: End of July Edition

The Blue Jays have begun a big minor league shuffle and a lot of the pieces are still in motion.

What we know for sure right now is that Lydell Moseby (son of Lloyd) was promoted from the GCL to Bluefield, catcher Daniel Klein and 1B Jordan Leyland were promoted from Vancouver to Lansing and P Matt Boyd (6th round draft pick out of Oregon State University) was assigned to Lansing. The first piece moving out of Lansing that I’ve heard is Justin Jackson getting a promotion to Dunedin.

None of these moves (except for Moseby’s) have been officially announced or appear on the MiLB.com website but all are coming from reliable sources.

Ladies and Gentlemen! We have a God sighting. Thanks to Mark Appel. And God.

23.35

Darn. My hope for the Jays was Clint Frazier who went to the Cleveland Indians. Boooooo.

23.35

Look at Bud smile for the camera.

23.43

3B Colin Moran goes to the Marlins. Hasn’t been connected with the Jays by anyone I’ve read or heard.

16.17

Also in the news: Jake Marisnick has been called up to the Miami Marlins.

00.10

Today, a couple of moves for the Lansing Lugnuts were confirmed. As reported, C Daniel Klein and 1B Jordan Leyland were promoted (Leyland went 0 for 4 with an RBI in his Lansing debut) while C Seth Conner was demoted to Vancouver and SS Jason Leblebijian was placed on the 7-day DL. More info to come!

18.16

Finally, a couple of moves were confirmed. Matt Boyd has been added to Lansing’s roster while Justin Jackson has been promoted to A+ Dunedin. To make room for him, RHP Marco Grifantini was released.

Other moves in Dunedin: RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx was placed on the Temporary Inactive List, SS Peter Mooney was placed on the Disabled List (he came out of last night’s game with an injury) and C Chris Schaeffer was activated from the DL.

10.43

The first bit of news to come out of the Winter Meetings is that the Blue Jays will be holding a press conference in a little under two hours to announce … well, something.

Initial reaction was that it might be an announcement of Tim Raines as the new first base coach but according to Shi Davidi, isn’t roster or coach related:

Not roster or coach related RT @BlueJays Blue Jays to make announcement at 12:30 today at Winter Meetings in Orlando.

While the Roy Halladay retirement press conference was going on, Jon Paul Morosi has tweeted that Adam Lind is one of the players that the Pittsburgh Pirates have been inquiring about to fill a vacancy at 1st base.

Additionally, it also looks like former Blue Jays first baseman David Cooper has signed major league deal with the Cleveland Indians. Cooper is trying to come back from an experimental back surgery after missing the entire 2013 season.

18.26

While I was working there were a couple of revelations from the Blue Jays that are interesting to pass along.

First of all, from Shi Davidi, we have reports that the Blue Jays have sold the rights to Thad Weber to NC Dinos of the Korean League. This will drop the Blue Jays back down to 39 players on the roster:

#BlueJays nearing deal to sell Thad Weber’s rights to South Korean club NC Dinos. Once completed, they’ll have 39 players on 40-man roster

Additionally, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal, there was a three-way trade in place between the Blue Jays, Rangers and a third team that would have involved Sergio Santos but fell through because of another player failing his physical.

20.49

One last update before I hit the sack for tonight. MLB Trade Rumors has some info that ex-Blue Jay outfielder Rajai Davis is close to a deal. It’s kind of a weird report because it comes Dan Duquette, the Baltimore Orioles’ GM, but it doesn’t say if the Orioles are the ones who are going to be signing Davis.

And with that bit of weirdity, I’ll bid you good night and until tomorrow, Blue Jays fans.

09.55

The first bit of news: Following up on what we had last night in that Rajai Davis would sign imminently, the news comes out today that Rajai Davis signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Tigers.

We also get confirmation that former Blue Jay, Eric Thames was released from his contract to head to Korea next season.

12.38

Good afternoon! We’re learning from Shi Davidi that the Blue Jays are going to name Tim Lieper their new first base coach, taking over from Dwayne Murphy. Unfortunately, this news will upset some Blue Jays fans who were hoping that imminent(?) Hall of Famer Tim Raines, who is already in the Blue Jays organization as a base running and outfielding coach, would be named to the position.

20.14

Alrighty, this will be it for today. Not much happening, Blue Jays-wise. Brett Anderson did end up getting traded to Colorado. The A’s got back a couple of young pitchers in Drew Pomeranz and Chris Jensen which is actually not a huge return on the oft-injured lefty.

AA was interviewed and said the usual stuff. Other teams have asked about everyone. Everyone wants Sanchez and Stroman for a top flight starter, yada yada. I’m not particularly convinced that there will be much action in the coming days but, hey, if I knew what was going on, I’d have a job.

Hopefully, there will be more news tomorrow and hopefully, this head cold that has sunk in won’t be as annoying tomorrow!

22.13

Ok, I wasn’t going to go to sleep without passing along this little bit of juicy information courtesy of Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun: “Colby Rasmus is on the market and has been offered to two teams by the Blue Jays for starting pitching.”

So the Jays are offering Colby around. It’s not surprising. They want to believe that Anthony Gose is the CF of the future and Colby is definitely getting more expensive despite having a terrific 2013. Could Gose provide that kind of offensive production? I don’t really think so but at the major league minimum, he’s going to save the club about .5 million over what Colby will get.

The other fact here is that the Jays keep working out one-year contracts with Rasmus rather than extending him. I can understand this philosophy, especially considering the inconsistent track record that he’s had thus far in his career. I think the Jays have a good idea of what the floor is for Gose: a guy who gives the club outstanding defense and speed on the bases while providing about a .675 OPS. The upside, however, is something more along the lines of a .750 OPS and 40+ steals. I’m not going to go into more detail here as I’ll probably save it for a post.

Thanks to Mr. Elliott for this little tidbit of “news” (although nothing is really new here).

15.12

Apparently Jamie Campbell has tweeted that Dustin McGowan will be at camp as a starter. This isn’t really news. I was assuming that the Jays would want to stretch out whoever they could to start and if they couldn’t do it in the rotation, then they shall be banished to the bullpen. Same with Jeremy Jeffress, same with Esmil Rogers (both of whom are also out of options).

Obviously this makes the most sense, especially for McGowan. No one will believe that he’s going to break camp with the team until he actually does, given his history. Remember, it’s much harder to stretch a pitcher out to start in the middle of the season than it is in Spring Training and there has always been a camp within the Blue Jays organization that believes that a regular workload as a starter is better for McGowan than the willy-nilly, high-intensity work that comes out of the bullpen.

So, ummm…. Yeah. yawn. Wake me up when something happens.

15.19

Oooh! Things are picking up now! Word has come out that the Mariners have continued their buying spree, picking up Logan Morrison from the Miami Marlins for Carter Capps, a hard-throwing, 23-year-old righty.

The question for us Blue Jays fans is what does this do to Adam Lind‘s trade value? With James Loney and Kendrys Morales on the free agent market and with Lind’s very controllable contract will teams be willing to give up more than a reliever with some gas? Apparently, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh are all looking for upgrades at 1st base.

08.58

The Rule 5 Draft is about to get going!

09.08

Toronto Blue Jays LHP Brian Moran from the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the Rule 5 Draft.

Who is Brian Moran? Moran is a 6’3″ lefty who had an excellent season in Triple-A Tacoma. He had a great K/BB ratio at 4.25 and struck out 85 in just 62 2/3 innings with just 20 walks.

09.19

The Blue Jays lose their first player in the draft – Lefty Evan Crawford from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to the Chicago White Sox.

The Jays then selected RHP Roberto Espinoza from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A roster.

09.28

The Blue Jays take another player in the Triple-A phase – LHP Richard Bleier from the Texas Rangers’ Double-A club.

09.30

Toronto selects RHP Scott Shuman from the Giants in the 3rd round of the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft.

09.33

According to Gregor Chisholm, the Blue Jays will trade Rule 5 draft pick to the Angels for international signing cap space.

#BlueJays will trade their Rule 5 pick (Brian Moran) to the Angels for additional international cap space. Number not disclosed.

The Minnesota Twins are up. They’ve been really stocking up their system lately – last 2 first rounders? Kohl Stewart and Byron Buxton.

19.39

Twins get a very solid infielder with Nick Gordon. They’ve already got Miguel Sano (3B) to play on the left side of the infield so the Twins could have a very good infield if Gordon pans out!

19.46

Alex Jackson, a catcher/outfielder with power, was taken by Minnesota at #6. That’s a bit lower than he was projected – as high as #2 in some mocks.

19.50

Approaching the Blue Jays’ first pick at #9 – The Phillies are up at #7. 2013 they picked HS SS J.P. Crawford and didn’t have a true 1st round pick in 2011 or 2012. Last one before Crawford was Jesse Biddle. Both Biddle and Crawford are having great years. Biddle in AA, Crawford in Class-A.

19.52

It’s Aaron Nola. Very good pitchability despite not having “off-the-charts” stuff. Great pitcher. I like these kinds of guys who know what they’re doing on a baseball field rather than the “big tools” guys.

19.55

Rockies are up! They had a big pick last year – took RHP Jon Gray #3 overall last year.

19.57

Wow. Another pitcher off the board with the selection of LHP Kyle Freeland! The Blue Jays are on the clock!

East Carolina U righty Jeff Hoffman, just had Tommy John surgery, was drafted by the Jays. Called a “great gamble . . . a clean operation.” Taking Hoffman here will save the Jays more money against the bonus pool cap. Do they gamble with higher rated guys later on because of that?

20.10

OF Michael Conforto goes to the Mets!

20.16

Just watched some video of Jeff Hoffman. Long and lean and seems to have very quick arm, exploding towards the plate.

Heard some interesting stuff on the radio with Dr. Kevin Wilk this past week. Wilk said that there’s a study that shows that pitchers who throw at max velo most often are at most risk for elbow injuries. Guys who don’t always throw 100% and have a big difference between FB velos could protect the arm more.

Is that what some guys are guilty of?

20.18

With #11, the Jays select Max Pentecost! A catcher who’s got good speed. BA reports average defense but they think he can stick behind the plate.

Interesting selection – so far the Jays have picked 2 college players. Last year, the first 4-year college player the Jays selected was Matt Boyd in the 6th round.

23.04

Blue Jays are in the hole for their second round pick! Will the Jays select someone that Kyle Matte thinks will be a best fit for the club (check out his Twitter @KyleMatte for his players)?

23.05

Top guys left on the Baseball America list: HS pitchers Sean Reid-Foley and Monte Harrison

23.08

And the Jays go with BA’s top rated guy left on the board. Ranked #19 by BA, it appears that the MLB panel don’t really know why he slid so far in the draft (to #49). Panel also loves the Jays’ draft so far through their first 2 round (3 picks).

13.32

In round 4, the Jays take Alabama HS catcher Matt Morgan. This is a really interesting pick: The Blue Jays have a tendency to go for organizational guys for their catchers, selecting them in the 30-35 round range. Guys like Derrick Chung, Jack Murphy, Jorge Saez, and Chris Schaeffer were all taken in that area. Even top minor league catcher A.J. Jimenez was a 10th rounder and Mike Reeves was taking in the 21st round. Scouts like Morgan’s defense and they think that he can have some thump from the right-hand side of the plate.

14.50

Wow. The Blue Jays are really deviating from last year’s plan. In the 5th round, the Jays took Lane Thomas, a high school right fielder from Bearden HS in Tennessee. Scouts seem to like his quick bat and his ability to drive the ball, making consistent hard contact. Other positive reviews go for his makeup, defense and speed.

15.47

The Jays’ sixth round pick is a guy that seems to fit the club’s most recent profile: 6-foot-2 lefty Grayson Huffman from Grayson County College. A community college lefty, he throws around 90 mph and has a good changeup that scouts like to go along with a weaker slider. He’ll be a “save some money” type of guy that should sign below slot. The Jays have taken one-year community college guys in this area to get guys who are still young (Huffman just turned 19), with some projectability but who aren’t as well known. This pick reminds me a lot of Daniel Lietz, a young, one-year JUCO lefty that the Jays took last year in the 5th round and signed for about 0,000 under slot.

16.29

In round 7, the Jays are going with Zack Zehner, an outfielder from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I’m not sure how to classify him: the school’s site says he’s a junior but he has two years of Junior College playing experience at Santa Barbara College under his belt. MLB has him as a senior but I’m not so sure about that, especially if he’s played for three years (he red-shirted his first year at Santa Barbara). He hit .316 without a lot of power and stole 5 of 7 bases. He is a big boy at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds.

17.12

And the Blue Jays’ eighth-round pick is in and it’s University of Florida right-hander Justin Shafer. Shafer spent most of this season (his junior season) in the bullpen, throwing 36 2/3 innings with a 4.17 ERA, 7 walks and 27 strikeouts. He’s listed as 6-foot-2 and 210 lbs.

17.54

In the 9th round last year, the Jays selected LHP Chad Girodo, a reliever who was a teammate of 8th rounder Kendall Graveman. Both are teammates with the Dunedin Blue Jays and are playing very well right now.

This year, in the 9th round, the Jays selected Ryan Metzler, a 21-year-old second baseman from the University of South Carolina Aiken, an NCAA Division II school, for which he’s hitting .357/.423/.524 with 7 home runs.

18.46

In the past two seasons, the Blue Jays have drafted service academy baseball players who would sign for very little in the 10th round of the draft. The 10th round is significant in that it is the last of the rounds in which the slot-value is added up for an overall total. In 2012 and 2013 the Jays selected Alex Azor and Garrett Custons (from the Naval Academy and Air Force Academy (respectively)), both of whom signed for only 00, saving the Blue Jays well over 0,000 in slot money.

This year the Blue Jays have bucked that trend, selecting Jordan Romano, a 6-foot-6 right-handed junior from Oral Roberts University. Romano is significant to the Blue Jays because he comes from Markham, Ontario, making him the first Canadian draft pick for the Blue Jays in 2014. A former Junior National Team member, Romano was a reliever for ORU, throwing 40 2/3 innings with a 2.66 ERA and a solid 49-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Congrats Jordan and welcome to your hometown team!

12.02

Interesting stat from the commentators (probably Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis) – about 31% of players have stuck with new teams, 33% last year.